Sports

A bombshell in the world of professional baseball: the St. Louis Cardinals, probably baseball’s most respected organization, are under investigation for hacking into the Houston Astros’ computer network to steal information: Investigators have uncovered evidence that Cardinals officials broke into a network of the Houston Astros that housed special databases the team had built, according to law enforcement officials. Internal discussions about trades, proprietary statistics and scouting reports were compromised, »

Did you know that Bruce Jenner was selected in the 1977 NBA draft? It’s true. The Kansas City Kings (now the Sacramento Kings) took Jenner, then the reigning Olympic decathlon champion, in the seventh round. Jenner hadn’t played basketball since high school. He declined to join the Kings. Why did Kansas City pick Jenner? Because, quipped a Washington Bullets staffer, he was the best athlete available. »

This morning, the New England Patriots issued a detailed rebuttal to the Wells report, which was the basis for the sanctions imposed on the team and quarterback Tom Brady by the NFL. In my opinion, the Patriots’ rebuttal is quite devastating. It confirms, as I wrote here and here, that the Wells report fails to prove its case. Particularly noteworthy is a report by Nobel Prize winning chemist Roderick MacKinnon, »

Fresh off of his electoral victory, British Prime Minister David Cameron has named MP Tracey Crouch as Minister for Sport. Crouch is an FA (Football Association) qualified soccer coach. She has coached a girls’ team for the past eight years, and is described as “a keen footballer herself.” During a Tory-Labour match she reportedly embarrassed Labour’s shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy by putting a penalty kick through his legs. As »

Today the NFL came down hard on the New England Patriots, taking away two draft choices (including next year’s first), fining the club $1 million and suspending quarterback Tom Brady for four games. This action was taken on the basis of the Wells report, which, as I wrote here, is surprisingly weak, especially as to Brady. The report concludes that Brady “more likely than not” was “at least generally aware” »

Today’s biggest news story comes from the world of sports. The NFL’s long-awaited report on allegedly deflated footballs used by the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game against Indianapolis was delivered by its authors, lawyers at the Paul, Weiss firm. The report concludes it is “more probable than not” that two low-level Patriots employees, John Jastremski and Jim McNally, conspired to deflate balls before the game in question, »

It surprised no one when the news came out a couple months ago that Venezuela’s socialist economy had run out of one of the easiest products to stock—toilet paper—but today the Wall Street Journal reports that most of the U.S. major league baseball talent scouting and development operations in Venezuela are closing down: The Mariners are the latest Major League Baseball team to pull out of Venezuela, leaving only four »

A sage friend once remarked that the decline of copy editing in book and newspaper publishing coincided with the decline in the number of priests defrocked by the Catholic Church. Sounds reasonable to me. And far be it from me to jump on just any old typo, since a number of them get through here at Power Line (chiefly because I seldom spot my own typos, which is apparently typical »

You might have to be from the Upper Midwest to fully appreciate this one. My son texted me this map, which purports to show the results of an ESPN poll on Saturday’s Kentucky-Wisconsin matchup. Is it legit? I wouldn’t bet on it, but, like Homer and Shakespeare, it expresses a higher truth: Whatever my fellow Minnesotans may think, I’m rooting for Wisconsin. »

Over the weekend, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Michigan State, and Duke advanced to what looks like an attractive Final Four in the Men’s NCAA basketball tournament. Once again, I will present all-time all-star teams for these programs. I have previously done so for Wisconsin and Kentucky, who were in the Final Four last year. Wisconsin’s list will need to be redone. As for Kentucky, the combination of (1) a phenomenal history, (2) »

Yesterday the NCAA announced that it is deeply concerned about Indiana’s just-passed Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and intends to scrutinize Indiana carefully to determine whether the state is fit to host events like the Final Four, scheduled to take place in Indianapolis next week: The NCAA national office and our members are deeply committed to providing an inclusive environment for all our events. We are especially concerned about how this »

Actually Pete Carroll had the right inclination to pass on second down with under 30 seconds to play and only one time out. But the better call would have been to have Wilson roll out and have the option of running, throwing for a receiver in the corner, or throwing it away. The inside slant pass was the poorest option. Couldn’t happen to a more deserving jerk than Carroll, who »

Fifty years ago today, a sold-out Cole Field House at the University of Maryland hosted what is probably the most famous high school basketball game ever played. It featured Lew Alcindor’s Power Memorial of New York City against DeMatha of Hyattsville, Maryland. DeMatha won, 46-43. The Washington Post has a good article about the game that draws on the recollections of key DeMatha participants. Alcindor (now Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), accommodating as »

Is Deflate-gate the dumbest story in the history of sports, or what? I suppose it is remotely possible that someone associated with the Patriots might have deflated some footballs, or perhaps it was sabotage by the Colts–after all, the Patriots played much better after halftime when the balls were re-inflated. But speculation about such skulduggery is hardly necessary. The NFL has been closemouthed about the facts its investigation has revealed »

As of today, more Americans can tell you the NFL’s rule for the inflation of footballs than know how many Congressmen are in the House of Representatives. And which was more eagerly awaited, this year’s State of the Union speech or Bill Belichick’s press conference this morning? It isn’t even close. The extent to which Americans’ interest in sports exceeds their interest in politics is extraordinary. Over the years, some »

Congratulations to Ohio State on winning the national championship last night (though for the record I detest the entire BCS derangement of college football of the last decade). I’m reminded that Harry Jaffa taught at Ohio State in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and was friendly with Hayes. He told this story upon Hayes’s passing: In 1956 Ohio State was placed on a one-year probation because of Woody’s having »

Why not end the year with a soccer post? This one will cover (1) the world player of the year award, (2) the EPL title race, and (3) Everton. 1. Three players are finalists for world player of the year, to be announced next month. The three are Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, and Manuel Neuer. Ronaldo has been phenomenal this year for Real Madrid, but did not shine at the »